The present invention relates to a rigid plastic hand gun holster and a rigid plastic holster for holding a magazine.
Numerous types of gun holsters are known in the art. Traditionally, gun holsters, as well as pouches which hold magazines, are made of leather. Leather is a relatively durable material which can be used to manufacture a hand gun holster suitable for receiving different models and configurations of hand guns. Therefore, a hand gun owner could use a gun holster which was not specifically designed for the specific model in his possession, however, with time, the leather holster would roughly adapt its configuration to that of the hand gun within it. After the shape adaptation took place the hand gun user was not always satisfied with the leather holster""s ability to, on one hand, hold the gun within it and, on the other hand, allow for the quick draw therefrom.
Since the leather is susceptible to external forces such as exposure to moisture, expansion and contraction, due to temperature changes, and wear and tear effects, the holster""s inner configuration is slightly different at various points in time. The difference, over time, in the holster""s inner shape consequentially influences the gripping relationship between the gun and the holster and may be detrimental for some hand gun users. A police officer which is required on occasion to draw the hand gun in a quick fashion, can""t allow or accept a situation whereby upon attempting to swiftly remove the hand gun, he finds the holster attached to the gun in his hand, thereby interfering with the next step of loading and/or discharging the weapon. The above situations occur under conditions in which a leather holster is clipped to the user""s pants or belt, rather than being threaded through said belt, and in which an expansion of the holster has taken place to the extent that the gripping power between the holster and the hand gun were greater than the gripping power between the holster and the user""s pants.
A hand gun holster, as well as a magazine holster (pouch), requires the unique characteristics which should include, on one hand, the ability to securely grip the hand gun when placed therein, eliminating the possibility, for example, of the hand gun falling out in a case where the holster is placed in a downwardly angle due, for example, to the bending over of the user and, on the other hand, to allow for the quick draw of said gun without any interference.
The present inventor has therefore attempted to overcome the above shortcomings by providing a holster which has specific inner dimensions for receiving a hand gun or magazine, whereby the holster would have a predetermined gripping relationship with the gun or the magazine, thereby eliminating shape variations resulting from external forces such as temperature and moisture. Furthermore, in the present invention injection molding technology is used to allow each and every removal of a hand gun from a rigid plastic holster to be met with the same resistance, implemented by the same amount of force.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a rigid plastic hand gun holster, comprising a rigid plastic holster having inner dimensions complementary to the configuration of the outer sections of a hand gun to be placed therein, wherein said holster is a product of injection molding.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the holster comprises two rigid plastic panels.
In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention at least one of said panels is provided with an indentation corresponding to the position of an opening of a trigger guard of a hand gun positioned therein, whereby said indentation releasably interlocks with said trigger guard to form a snap-fit therewith.
In especially preferred embodiments of the present invention the cross-section of at least a segment of each of the panels is of substantially hook-shaped configuration.
Preferably the panels are connected by means selected from the group consisting of rivets, glue and the application of ultrasonic welding thereto.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention the holster further comprises a retention member for mounting said holster on the upper rim of the users pants, wherein said retention member has a lateral concave configuration complementary to the convex configuration of said user""s hip, wherein said retention member has a lateral step configuration along the longitudinal axis thereof, whereby said step forms a ledge that can underride a belt, and wherein the ledge of said step further comprises at least two spaced-apart upwardly-extending flanges for hooking against the front surface of said belt, thereby enabling said belt to act as stop means preventing upward movement of said holster, while allowing the quick draw of a gun therefrom.
In an especially preferred embodiment, the above flanges form a pair of spaced-apart hook-like configurations.
In a preferred embodiment the retention member is made of rigid plastic and is connected to the holster by means selected from the group consisting of rivets, glue and ultrasound.
In a further embodiment of the present invention the cross-section of at least a segment of said holster is substantially rectangular.
In another aspect of the invention there is provided a rigid plastic holster for holding a magazine for an automatic hand gun, comprising a rigid plastic holster having inner dimensions complementary to the configuration of the outer sections of a magazine to placed therein, wherein said magazine holster is a product of injection molding.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the magazine holster comprises two rigid plastic panels and the panels are connected by means selected from the group consisting of rivets, glue and ultrasound.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention the magazine holster further comprises a retention member for mounting said holster on the upper rim of the user""s pants, wherein said retention member has a lateral concave configuration complementary to the convex configuration of said user""s hip, wherein said retention member has a lateral step configuration along the longitudinal axis thereof, whereby said step forms a ledge that can underride a belt, and wherein the ledge of said step further comprises at least one upwardly extending flange which is substantially parallel to said member and substantially perpendicular to the ledge of said step, thereby forming a hook-like configuration for hooking against the front surface of said belt, thereby enabling said belt to act as stop means preventing upward movement of said holster, while allowing the quick withdrawal of a magazine therefrom.